Hawks remain undefeated after three

The Hay Springs Football team had an explosive night of offense as they dismantled the Moguls of Edgemont Thursday night 80 to 12. With a dominating night on the ground, the Hawks racked up over 500 yards on 52 carries. “I was pleased with how well our team played. They controlled both lines of scrimmage and we were able to run the ball effectively against Edgemont,” stated Coach Jason Funk. “We got them down early and they were unable to move the ball against us. Our young guys got a lot of playing time tonight starting in the 2nd quarter and the reserves got to play the entire second half.”

The defense for the Hawks was also dominate, allowing only 111 yards total with 0 yards rushing. Leading tacklers for Hay Springs were Jordan Encinia, Chris Ray and Joey Johnson. “I thought Jordan Encinia had a great night on defense and Chris and Levi Ray did an excellent job running the ball,” said Funk. “It was one of those nights that everything was going right for us on both sides of the ball. We got the momentum early and it stayed with us the whole night; I’m really proud of the way these young men played tonight.”

The Hawks didn’t waste any time Thursday night, scoring on the second play of their first drive. Stevin Horrocks ran the ball in from eight yards out after a botched Edgemont snap gave the Hawks the ball on the 7-yard-line. Levi Ray ran in the extra point. After shutting down the Moguls’ offense, the Hawks again marched down the field, scoring on a 24 yard run by Horrocks on the fifth play of the drive. Levi Ray ran in the extra point to put the Hawks up 16-0.

Finding themselves down 16 halfway through the first quarter, the Moguls went for it on fourth down at their own 28. The Hawks defense shut the Moguls down and the offense capitalized on the great field position scoring on a one yard run by Joey Johnson.

Less than two minutes later, Horrocks found his way to the endzone for the third time in the game, scoring on a 43 yard run to put the Hawks up 28-0. With less than ten seconds to play in the first quarter, Horrocks ran five yards for his fourth touchdown of the game.

The Hawks went into the second quarter up 34-0, but quickly added another eight with a 16 yard run by Chirs Ray, followed by a successful PAT run by Joey Johnson. Chris Ray found the endzone again less than three minutes later, scoring on a 33 yard run, just the fourth play of a 65 yard drive, to put the Hawks up 48-0.

On the first play of the Hawks’ next drive Levi Ray scampered 30 yards to score. Nate Letcher ran in the PAT to put the Hawks up 56-0.

With time winding down in the first half, the Moguls finally got on the board with four yard run by Zak Koller. Chris Ray answered right back with a touchdown of his own on the first play of the 32 yard drive. Levi ran in the PAT to finish the Hawks’ scoring in the first half. Not to be outdone, Edgemont’s Koller ran the ensuing kick-off back 70 yards to score the final points of the first half. Hay Springs led 64-12 at the half.

Things slowed down in the second half with mostly reserves in the game for the Hawks. Even with most of the starters out, the Hawks’ defense still held the Moguls scoreless in the second half, while adding 16 points of their own.

Halfway through the third quarter Nate Letcher broke loose on the first play of the drive to score on a 40 yard run. Letcher finished the series with a successful PAT run.

Late in the fourth, Kolten Marx finished a 59 yard drive for the Hawks with a 12 yard touchdown. Marx ran in the PAT to put the Hawks up 80-12.

Next on the schedule for the Hawks is Hemingford on Thursday night in Hay Springs. Hemingford comes into Thursday night’s contest sporting a powerful team both on offense and defense which only lost two starters from last year’s dominate team. “This Hemingford team is in my opinion one of the best eight-man teams in this end of the state,” said coach Funk. “They are fast and powerful with multiple options to attack you with. We have our hand full against them, but our guys are ready and have been looking forward to this game since they stomped us last year.”

Hay Springs goes into Thursday night’s game with a 3 – 0 record. If you can’t make it to the game, we will be doing a live video stream at www.sheridancountyjournalstar.net/videos